About this blog

The International Convention against the Taking of Hostages recognises that the right to life, liberty and personal security is a human right to be afforded to all citizens, and therefore that hostage-taking is a crime against humanity. Nevertheless, recent conflicts have witnessed a startling increase in the number of insurgent and rebel groups  – as well as state authorities – kidnapping persons for political/economic gain.

Radiocaptivity was started as a way to speak out against the taking of hostages in the context of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and acts of terrorism, and to highlight the plight of those individuals and their families who have suffered from this heinous crime. The blog does not concern itself with domestic (i.e. family/non-systematic) hostage situations or cases of child abduction (except as related to the above).

I – the author of this blog – am a sometime journalist, former aid worker and current human rights defender.  Because I work on high-profile human rights issues and in often dangerous contexts, I have chosen to remain anonymous. However, I welcome comments to this blog and any information about hostage incidents, wherever they take place in the world – just leave me a note anywhere on these pages or e-mail me at radiocaptivity(at)gmail(dot)com. My belief is that the world only will begin to deal with the scourge of hostage-taking once someone takes the time to document how widespread the problem is.

The name radiocaptivity is a nod to las voces del secuestro (voices of the kidnapped), a radio station that airs in Colombia, set up as a way to send messages to kidnap victims. (For an interesting article about this service, click here.) And to read more about the background for this blog, check out my story.